SAPULPA, Okla. – Nineteen drivers took to the track on Wednesday night for practice at Creek County Speedway, marking the unofficial kickoff to the sixth annual Turnpike Challenge.
Wednesday’s open practice gave drivers one final opportunity to shake down their cars before business picks up with the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League season opener on Thursday night at Creek County.
Some of the biggest names in midget racing unloaded and hit the track for practice, with the likes of Keith Kunz Motorsports, Clauson-Marshall Racing, Dave Mac Motorsports, Daum Motorsports and Steve Reynolds Racing all sending their drivers out for laps.
Eleven different sessions took to the quarter-mile oval on a sunny evening which turned into a chilly night.
At the conclusion of it all, Lincoln, Calif., young gun Tanner Carrick clocked the quickest lap of the night, with a blistering time of 13.347 seconds aboard his No. 71k Craftsman Bullet by Spike-Toyota entry for Keith Kunz Motorsports.
Following Carrick on the time charts Wednesday night was Red Bluff, Calif., rookie-of-the-year contender Jesse Colwell, with a 13.544 in his KKM Giveback Classic No. 71.
Zeb Wise of Angola, Indiana turned a 13.553 aboard his Clauson-Marshall Racing-owned, Driven2SaveLives-backed Spike/SR-11 No. 39bc.
Rounding out the top five was another pair of Keith Kunz Motorsports teammates, with Holley Hollan’s No. 67k in fourth at 13.623 and Tucker Klaasmeyer’s No. 27 at 13.709.
Thursday night, the season officially kicks off as the sixth annual Turnpike Challenge goes green at Creek County.
A four-race mini-series pitting the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midgets vs. the POWRi Lucas Oil West Midgets, with the POWRi Speedway Motors Outlaw Micros as support, the Turnpike Challenge travels from Creek County on Thursday to I-44 Riverside Speedway in Oklahoma City on Friday and Saturday, before concluding on Sunday at Port City Raceway in Tulsa.
Practice times:
1. 71K-Tanner Carrick (13.347); 2. 71-Jesse Colwell (13.544); 3. 39BC-Zeb Wise (13.553); 4. 67K-Holley Hollan (13.623); 5. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer (13.709); 6. 67-Logan Seavey (13.717); 7. 19-Sam Johnson (13.743); 8. 52-Blake Hahn (13.747); 9. 17-Austin Brown (13.757); 10. 20G-Noah Gass (13.778); 11. 47-Andrew Layser (13.789); 12. 8-Alex Sewell (13.915); 13. 21KS-Karter Sarff (14.004); 14. 9-Daison Pursley (14.009); 15. 08-Cannon McIntosh (14.059); 16. 11B-Kaylee Bryson (14.097); 17. 42-Hank Davis (14.160); 18. 9-Emilio Hoover (14.366); 19. 8M-Cade Morton (14.413)